Srinagar, July 27: A three-day international conference on ‘Interface between Agriculture, Food, Chemical and Biological Sciences’ started at the University of Kashmir on Wednesday.
Vice-Chancellor Prof Nilofer Khan inaugurated the conference, organised by the varsity’s Department of Food Science and Technology.
In her presidential address, Prof Nilofer said such important conferences offer a platform to young students and research scholars to exchange ideas and learn from the expertise of top-notch scientists from across the world.
Saying that exchange of knowledge is a key to achieve academic excellence, Prof Nilofer underlined the need for academic institutions to “shun working in isolation” and encourage students and faculty exchange programmes to solve pressing societal issues through multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research.
Dean Academic Affairs Prof Farooq A Masoodi, who was a guest of honour, said the basic objective of the conference is to critically analyse the food science interfaces, promote national and international partnerships and to “explore how institutions can move forward with shared knowledge and ideas”.
Prof Alok Srivastava, President, Association of Food Scientists and Technologists India (AFSTI), said such conferences lead to building new institutional connectivity besides increasing visibility of knowledge produced therein.
Dean Research Prof Irshad A Nawchoo and Registrar Dr Nisar Ahmad Mir also shared the dais as special guests and highlighted the importance of the conference especially for young students and research scholars.
Chief Organiser of the Conference and Coordinator Food Technology Department Dr Adil Gani spelt out the objectives of the three-day event. He said an interdisciplinary approach is needed to “design a food for future” with potential collaborations in different areas of food science which the current event tries to explore.
Dr Adil was honoured with ‘Prof. Carl Hoseney Award 2019’ by AFSTI in recognition of his achievements and contributions in the area of Food Science and Technology.